Massive Data Institute

The Massive Data Institute at Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy is an interdisciplinary research center devoted to the study of high-dimensional data to answer public policy questions.

MDI uses data from novel, often real-time sources like the Internet, social media, sensors and other big data sources ​to increase our understanding of society and human behavior, and thus improve public policy decision-making.​

MDI draws on expertise from across Georgetown’s campus and beyond, including the social, natural, and computer science departments, and through strategic partnerships with organizations like the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, the Institute for Social Research at University of Michigan, and the Pew Charitable Trust. The U.S. Census Bureau has designated MDI a Federal Statistical Research Data Center, one of only 23 in the nation. ​

The Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy is a top-ranked public policy school located in the center of the policy world in Washington, D.C. Our mission is to teach our students to design, analyze, and implement smart policies and put them into practice in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, in the U.S. and around the world.

Massive Data Institute News

Analytics students have teamed up with McCourt School of Public Policy students to win the2017 Deloitte Foundation Data Analytics Fellowship. Tiankai Guo, Ruhan Wang (both MS Analytics), Andre Lee (Master in International Development Policy), and Tommie Thompson (Master in Public Policy) met while participating in the Deloitte Core Consulting Series.

The average tax on gasoline throughout the world is declining, meaning that governments are collectively failing to discourage fossil fuel consumption, according to a new study by Georgetown and UCLA professors.

Nearly 300 scholars and leaders from across the public, private, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors gathered at Georgetown on to explore how the next presidential administration can institutionalize innovation in federal policymaking.